Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
KILLERS ROBBED ME OF A FATHER
Daughter tells of devastation over stabbing of takeaway boss Nelson
A DAUGHTER yesterday told how she was robbed of her father when he was brutally stabbed to death.
In a powerful victim impact statement, she said her dad Nelson Cheung, 65, was just months away from retiring when he was murdered in a horrifying raid. She was speaking as Virgilio Correia and Christopher Menaul were jailed for killing the takeaway owner. Mr Cheung’s daughter told the court: “He was my rock, my beacon, my protector and the voice of wisdom.”
A GANG involved in a callous robbery that saw a takeaway owner stabbed to death were caught after a credit card they stole was used to try and buy a hot tub on ebay. Details of the vicious killing of Nelson Cheung emerged as four defendants were sentenced – two for murder and two for lesser offences – at Belfast Crown Court. The 65-year-old’s businessman’s wife Winnie, who was 57 at the time of the 2015 robbery in Randalstown, Co Antrim, was also assaulted. Virgilio Correia, known locally as Marty Correia, 35, was handed a 16-year prison term for murder and Christopher Menaul, 28, was sentenced to nine years in jail for the offence. Mr Justice Treacy said: “The lives of two honest, hard-working people were totally destroyed by the actions of drug-addled, parasitic assailants who were motivated by the need to feed their drugs habits.” Also appearing beside the two killers were husband and wife Gary and Lisa Thompson, who were sentenced for the roles they played in the aftermath of the murder.
HAUNTED
Gary Thompson, 34, was handed a seven-year sentence for robbery. He received a further three years for assisting offenders and three years for attempting to pervert the course of justice, all to run concurrently. Lisa Thompson, 35, was sentenced to two years, which was suspended, for handling stolen goods and a further two years, also suspended, for assisting offenders, and two years, also suspended, for attempting to pervert the course of justice. After the attackers fled, Mrs Cheung was found by the emergency services, covered in blood and cradling her fatally wounded husband. The judge added: “This pitiful scene at the side of a country road still haunts the family to this day.” Following her husband’s murder, Mrs Cheung and the couple’s children returned to Hong Kong, from where they listened to today’s proceedings via Skype. Addressing Correia, Mr Justice Treacy said when he decided to carry out the robbery he would have been aware the “slightly built man was not a match for you physically”. Pointing out the consequences of bringing a knife, the judge added: “A moment’s reflection would have made it clear to you that there was no need to arm yourself with any weapon to overpower and rob these people.” Mr Justice Treacy said Correia’s decision to take a blade to the scene had “a catastrophic effect” and led to an “orgy of deadly violence”. He added Mr Cheung may still be alive today of it was not for his “senseless cruelty”. The court heard both Correia and Menaul were addicted to drugs, and their motivation was to rob the Cheungs to pay off drugs debts to local paramilitaries. Menaul was handed a minimum nine-year sentence after it was accepted he played a secondary role in the murder but knew about the presence of the knife. Both he and Correia also received a 12-year sentence for wounding Mrs Cheung and 12 years for robbing her of a handbag containing an ipad, iphone, £200 in cash and bank and credit cards. The terms are to run concurrently. After the attack, the pair went to the Thompsons’ Cunningham Way home in Antrim. The couple, who now live in Felden Avenue in Newtownabbey, allowed the killers to use their house for refuge, to remove clothing worn during the incident and to clean themselves. Speaking after the sentencing, Det Chief Insp Eamonn Corrigan said the four defendants “have contributed to destroying the life of this hardworking couple”. He added: “Mr Cheung and his wife Winnie, who have three grown up children, moved to Northern Ireland in 2003 and ran their own restaurant in Randalstown. “The couple worked seven days a week with very little time off as they were so committed to their business. “However, this all came to a devastating end on January 8, 2015, when Virgilio Correia and Christopher Menaul forced their vehicle off the road at around 12.10am after CASE DCI Eamonn Corrigan finishing work. Winnie, who was driving, was concerned they were being followed as this had happened previously. “She slowed down on the Caddy Road to allow the vehicle behind to pass but instead the vehicle pulled alongside their car, ramming them off the road. “When Mr Cheung got out of the passenger side, Virgilio Correia stabbed him 18 times while demanding money. “Meanwhile, Christopher Menaul attacked
Winnie Cheung as she sat in the driver’s seat. He reached in from the front passenger door and pulled her from the car by her hair. “During the incident Mrs Cheung sustained an injury to her head which required staples and a stab wound to her hand. This caused life-changing injuries to her hand and as a result she can no longer work.” DCI Corrigan said the “break for the investigation team came when it was found that an attempt had been made to purchase a hot tub from ebay using a credit card stolen in the robbery”. He added: “This online attempted transaction was made within one hour of Mr Cheung’s death. “Our enquiries into this online activity then led us to the home address of Gary and Lisa Thompson. “Detectives were able to piece together the movements of the four people involved directly before and after the murder including the fact Correia and Menaul had followed the Cheungs the previous night also in a ‘dry run’. “CCTV evidence also showed Correia and Menaul calling at the home of Gary and Lisa Thompson at Cunningham Way in Antrim at around 9.40pm on January 7, where they remained for approximately one hour. “We believe this was when plans for the robbery were finalised. “Correia and Menaul then leave together at 10.35pm in Correia’s VW Golf. One minute later, Lisa Thompson leaves the house in her Vauxhall Astra and collects partner Gary Thompson from Templepatrick. “Our examination of telephone records show a call from Correia’s phone to Gary Thompson at 11.31pm on January 7. At 12.08am on January 8, Correia phones Gary Thompson’s phone again. “This is believed to be the call to say they are on their way back and they arrive at Gary Thompson’s home 15 minutes later. “They are in the house for approximately 20 minutes before returning to the car and remove items including a bin bag – the Cheungs’ belongings.” DCI Corrigan described the robbery as a “particularly brutal and senseless attack on a defenceless couple”.